, 1887-06-09

burned slowly, but yet had to be watched |
and turned up. From time to time the burn.
ing end was unwound and pulled up. Some
times there was carelessness and the entire |
taper caught on fire from the wick. Another |
device for light was saucer or platter of |
melted lard, In which hoated ball from the |
sycamore or cotton wood tree. These balls, !
which were dry and absorbent and quite in |
burned readily, acting as a wick
and keeping the lard melted. One ball gave
fully as much light as an ordinary kerosene
lamp The tallow dip, the wax taper and
the candle each had their advocates. Other
people, who desired more powerful illumi-
nation, returned to an even more primitive
custom and used pine knots, which In the
fireplace made glare which made q room all
abaZe with light.
People, in the country particularly, were
put to great straits for writing paper and en-
veopes All Old letters were resurrected and
all extra sheets of paper removed therefrom.
Old letters written on one side of the paper
were again brought out and the other side
used. Old books were cut up and the paper
taken for this purpose. Envelopes were cut
out of any kind of paper by the use of
sharp knife and u wooden pattern. Cherry
tree or peach tree gum furnished the mucil-
age, being dissolved in vinegar. These en-
velopes were often made by children and sold
at from SO to So per pack i'm Confederate or
state currency. Many letters were mailed in
the old st-1e of ccr'urv since without en-
velopes. Goose quilts furnished pens, as Of
yore, and buzzard and turkey quilts were
also used. Polkberries, elderberries and the
gals of the red oak tree furnished ink, cop
peras being used in the solution. Sharpened
bars Of lead were used as pencils, while for
slate pencils old states were cut up into mar
.i,N aud dad
sonally a partially cindered bone of chicken
was used as a slate pencil, but proved rather
too soft AS for school books, any kind were
used many of them being half n century old
Occasionally in the country schools no two
books could be found alike
In the manufacture of shoe backing lamp
black or the charcoal of burned wheat or oat
straw, mixed with tallow and beeswax. was
used. Some used buttermillS, into which all
the lampblack it would dissolve was mixed
In the manufacture of hats and bonnets
both ingenuity and taste were shown. Boys
and girls. as we'll as women, devoted much
time to braiding long rolls of wheat, oat or
rye straw for hat braids Palmetto was split
and braided. Artificial flowers were home
made, of feathers in their natural color or
dyed, and from muslin. For ordinary wear
bonnets were made in spoke" style, of marsh
rushes, dried. cut in proper lengths ana
woven in an open warp of cotton. Such bon
nets presented a really tidy appearance.
Wheat or rye straw was also used the same
way. The making of such bonnets was
laborious, as the straws or rushes had to he
laid in the warp one by one by hand Old
buttons were covered and recovered, and
new ones were cast from pewter. Shapes cut
from small, thin gourds were covered with
cloth and did good duty as buttons The re-
pair Of corsets when ribs were broken was
puzzle, but for only little while, for il was
found that hickory spllnts served the purpose
well, and white oak was as service able.
s*A
Coffee was treasured, but after time the
supply gave out and "store coffee" beca,ue
with not few mere memory. Only
through the blockade runners could coffee lie
obtained, and of course the great mass of
people had to go without it, The same re-
mark an''''e to tea. As q substitute for ccf
lee, rye. wheat or okra was roasted, ground
and boiled in a coffee pot or kettle. or sweet
200 ,tues raw were sliced and roasted, th,n
ca. ppei fine and ground. Bran and bread
r,rl@is we're also Use |. aud not n few used the
s,t,f, "f Toe i"rsunnr'i mud dried apples As
aN.i,s,iut. tor sugar, sorghum or cane syrup
N.,s lhc sole rcii.ul'e. Cane wns cultivated
r' rrynhere and pay" good yields. In the
ru.ulm the cane cili>hrr.. made in rr.ie
| Nay nt wood, with lis rriirrs placed pcrp-n
| ~ uti"i, ,He by slide, HaIt crraSili5 nui,e-
| -. 10 r"il,d ho n'Hrd ut great distances, n-
| To i.iiip- walked in IA circle around IT,,
! c."-..,le pUl .us tue sweeps or beams whiCl
( iurpai tlic rollers. The cuuc was cut u,Ir
| h,,at.i To- til" c"u.l''~. and therc ci.l, irpi
! wee I"pi TT wulk tee, lg it ,fp the io.irr
-- lard task Nj i.. .!U.',tyv the r,,,t,r
! ".I 'ttu Guhl urtur'-u ca.uie,s ioe SCR
! az, turi, deere usually loUn"ed Il io>, OF ou'
or bo,h arms. The cane juice was boiled il
, wooden or iron tanks, generally the fora e
which was provided with sheet iron bot
tom. In many places the boiling was dom
in ordinary pots and kettles. and these wer
to he seen in rows hung on wooden poles ov,'
Il log fire in the woods near the Cruslcl
After boiling the syrup was run into barrci
or kegs. 1t would not crystalline and MAX
sugar like the Louisiana cane juice. but
was used i'm its fluid or semi fluid Nut
for all purposes. There was often greet ri
valry between neghbors as to whose "DIiil
OF syrup was the best, and the "lOng swe.
ening,n as it was called was duly tasted All
pus,ed upon 10y critical neiahbors. Som
lines it was nearly black i'll color, and Of
rank vile taste when burned, but in otMa
,,rses it was golden and equal TO any syrup
| the world People soon learned to like i
tod of one little Confederate who in lsts
nfter the war ended was given a lump
snowy cut loaf and held it in his hand, cv,
ing it auxiously, but not knowing VIII,
) manner OF stuff ii was.
s"s
An odd thing during the war wns ri
drawing of cotton yarn The fact"'.i
could not supply everybody, so it was foIu
, best to let people, women especially, dlH
lots and the ones who drew "a ticket with
5 number had the privilege OF going To Il
= factory when yarn was spun, of preseiiti
the card and the proper amount of mon,
4 and taking away the much desired five pnIi
t bundle of cotton yarn. Many thous,nds
e people picked cotton by hand carried II wit
I hand cards into rolls, then spun il into yarn
old fashioned spinning wheels. The bockn'
a runners always brought over thousands
a cotton cards, which were sold at cost to d
r women, Though all this inventive geni
? was shown during the war yet when u